BOSSES at the University of Huddersfield have pledged that all their staff, even those working for outside contractors, will receive a “living wage.”

The university will pay salaries well above the national minimum.

The institution has become the first university outside London to secure accreditation from the Living Wage Foundation and will pioneer the scheme across Yorkshire.

The university has agreed to pay an hourly rate of at least £7.45, well above the statutory minimum wage of £6.19.

The Living Wage Foundation is an independent body which sets the pay rate and reviews it every November.

The foundation says that a living wage not only benefits individuals and families but also boosts society and businesses which can count on more commitment from employees.

The university’s vice-chancellor Prof Bob Cryan said: “We have always ensured that salary rates for lower-paid employees exceed the national minimum wage rate and for many years they have also been at or above the living wage rate.

“As a socially-responsible employer we feel it is only right and proper that all our staff should be able to provide for their families as a result of working here.

“Seeking accreditation from the foundation is a significant step on our part which I hope inspires the rest of the UK university sector to follow suit.

“But it involves real commitment as well,” added Prof Cryan. “We have formally agreed to match the living wage when it is revised.”

In addition to ensuring that all staff receive the living wage or above, the university guarantees that all people employed by new contractors providing labour services will also continue to receive at least £7.45 an hour.

Launched by a London-based campaign in 2001 and backed by research carried out by the influential Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the living wage has been strongly backed by Labour leader Ed Miliband and by London’s Tory Mayor Boris Johnson.

Currently 100 leading employers have sought accreditation from the Living Wage Foundation, which claims that its campaign has lifted 45,000 families out of poverty.

The University of Huddersfield is the first Higher Education employer, after Queen Mary University of London, to sign up to the scheme.

Rhys Moore, director of the Living Wage Foundation, said: “The benefits that the living wage brings to staff and business are clear.

“I welcome the leadership shown by the University of Huddersfield on this important issue”.